Abraham Ortelius’s Library Reconstructed

Abraham Ortelius's library, one of the largest private collections of books and maps in sixteenth-century Europe, is estimated to have contained approximately 5,965 maps and 3,514 books by around 2,892 authors at the time of his death in 1598. This reconstruction leverages Ortelius's meticulous records, including his Catalogus auctorum, texts on the verso of maps in his Theatrum orbis terrarum, Synonymia and Thesauri, correspondence, and ledgers from the Plantin Moretus Museum. Surviving books bearing his signature further corroborate these findings, providing unprecedented insight into the scope and diversity of Ortelius's scholarly pursuits.

van den Broecke, M. (2013). Abraham Ortelius’s Library Reconstructed. Imago Mundi, 66(1), 25–50. https://doi.org/10.1080/03085694.2014.845946